WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER: Reflections on the Dramas of Life

WE ARE

IN THIS

TOGETHER

WE ARE

IN THIS

TOGETHER

Reflections on the Dramas of Life

Richard Stark

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

Reflections on the Dramas of Life

Copyright 2021 by Richard Stark

All rights reserved

Published by: Work

Isbn:

pb: 978-1-956876-72-7

ebook: 978-1-956876-71-0

Bible verse [James 5:12] at the conclusion of "A Father’s

Legacy" is from the King James Version

To my mother and father

Contents

Excerpts, San Francisco Book Review

Introduction

Group I

Family and Friendship

--A Father’s Legacy

--An Army of One

--The Treasure of a Friend

--A Mother’s Gifts

--Home to Wisconsin

Group II

Citizenship and Country

--Day of Infamy

--We the People

Group III

Experience and Perspective

--A Journey in Time

Group IV

The Spirit of Adventure

--A Florida Adventure

Afterword

San Francisco Book Review (complete)

Notes

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

Reflections on the Dramas of Life

by Richard Stark

Excerpts from … The San Francisco Book Review, 2014

A thoughtful, meditative work.

Captures the joy and sorrow felt throughout life.

Tactful as well as enlightening.

Abounds with wisdom and understanding.

Grasps the monumental aspects of life.

Earning four stars, it demonstrates a true appreciation for the path each individual must explore.

Accessible to every reader and worth re-reading over the years.

Introduction

Dear gentle Reader,

These vignettes, or brief stories, were originally sent to family and friends at Christmastime—one annually, beginning in 2006, the year my father passed away.

Each vignette concerns a significant personal event or experience—my father’s passing; our son’s first deployment to Iraq; the loss of a lifelong friend; the subsequent loss of my mother; a visit home to Wisconsin; the anniversary of 9/11; a fortieth high school reunion; an observation regarding our US Constitution; and a bicycle journey to Florida—which others may relate to also. That is to say, each has a universal theme.

Except for the first vignette, regarding the death of my father, each begins with a question. The question alludes to the universal theme.

The universal themes are in four groups, and the stories appear chronologically, with the exception of "A Journey in Time."

I hope you enjoy the stories.

Richard Stark

June 2021

Group I

===============================

Family and Friendship

This fast-paced society of ours offers many fleeting attractions. There is not much, it seems, that is permanent—but family endures. That is to say, our relationships, with our loved ones and friends, are what matter in the end and what we come back to.

—From "A Father’s Legacy"

A Father’s Legacy

Friday, November 17, 2006

To: Cheri, Walt, Mike, Sharon, Maria, Diane, Craig, Antonio, Ava, Samantha, Carolyn, and Kari-Lyn

Subject: Thank you

Dear Shipmates (or as Craig aptly put it recently in an e-mail—Shiftmates):

Thank you each for your condolences regarding my father’s passing on Wednesday. For what it’s worth, here are a few thoughts so far. For those of you who have had a similar occurrence in your lives, perhaps we can compare notes.

My first impression: A degree of shock—like being pushed into a swimming pool unexpectedly. One’s life has changed, and behold, the great mystery—death—presents itself. It’s an in-your-face kind of thing.

The next morning: It appears to be just another day. The earth turns, impassively, the weather is unconcerned. The trees, the surroundings, all the same. It becomes oddly apparent—life simply, indifferently, goes on.

Now ahead is the funeral, on Monday. It certainly will be peculiar to see my father lying in a casket. In September my folks celebrated their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.

I will be wondering what thoughts are going through my mother’s mind.

Well, there is no stopping this. No ignoring or denying it. So we will travel to Wisconsin, my family and I, to attend.

Thank you all again for your kindness.

Richard

Friday, December 1, 2006

To: Cheri, Walt, Mike, Sharon, Maria, Diane, Craig, Antonio, Ava, Samantha, Carolyn, and Kari-Lyn

Subject: Follow-up

Dear Shipmates,

Regarding my father’s funeral, thank you all for the lovely plant my mother received, and for the beautiful cards, and for your thoughts and prayers. Life has pretty much returned to normal now.

The funeral service on November 20th was very nice. In addition to relatives, some of my dad’s golfing buddies and former colleagues attended.

My father served in World War II, so the local VFW honor guard was at the graveside with a twenty-one-gun salute and Taps.

The weather cooperated nicely. It was a sunny, pleasant day.

My overall impression of the experience: This fast-paced society of ours offers many fleeting attractions. There is not much, it seems, that is permanent—but family endures. That is to say, our relationships, with our loved ones and friends, are what matter in the end and what we come back to.

Thank you all again.

Sincerely,

Richard

One year earlier:

September 27, 2005

It seemed strange to be dialing the new digits. For over fifty years, and my entire life up to this point, the home phone number for my parents had not changed—until recently, when my brothers and I helped Mom and Dad move into an assisted-living center. Now they had a different number. It was odd not to be entering the ever-so-familiar one, the one I had grown up with, the one that was for so long a part of each of our lives.

Dad answered on the third ring. Hello.

Isn’t it intriguing that, besides having unique fingerprints and other features, our voices are each different as well?

Hi, Dad. Happy anniversary.

And isn’t it remarkable the extent to which a person’s voice, particularly that of a loved one, touches our lives?

Thank you. Your mother isn’t here. She’s … There was a pause. Dad had grown frail, and now, at age eighty-eight, conversing required some effort. … at Bible Study, so … Another pause. I’ll tell her when she comes in.

Although Dad’s voice had weakened as his strength and stamina had declined over the years, it was still the familiar sound that had been in my life since my earliest memories.

All right. And I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

Learning to ride a bicycle. Working in our garden. Weekend walks in the woods. The voice had been there.

The weather’s nice. Just like it was … sixty-four years ago.

The reference was to September 27, 1941, the day Mom and Dad were married.

It’s beautiful here, too. I tried to imagine the view out the window there in Wisconsin, testing my memory of the climate. You’ve got, what, sunshine and…seventy degrees?

I don’t know what we have for temperature … but the sun is shining.

Shoveling